Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Album Review - Elbow

Elbow – Seldom Seen Kid[Fiction; 18/03/2008]

How many other bands in this era have made four solid records on the bounce? It’s hard to raise a thought of content let alone compile a literal fist-full of artists. Elbow certainly isn’t the exception, and in truth, who thought they would be? Seldom Seen Kid doesn’t rank as the band’s most striking release to date, but it has shades of the quality the band has delivered to its listeners over their previous three-album career.

Despite the weakness of the lead single, ‘Grounds for Divorce’, the free flowing pace through ‘The Bones of You’ and ‘Mirrorball’ and the bulky choir racket through ‘On A Day Like This’ see Elbow playing to their strengths, with front man Guy Garvey finding his lyrical niche while his band mates provide the fitting rhythms.

Seldom Seen Kid has a budding quality to it, and for those that stick around long enough, you may just find that quality. Although many people will pass this of as mundane soft rock, Garvey still has that knack of using attention-grabbing catchphrases, which gives him the jump over his contemporaries, who are fast becoming icons for those who over indulge in expensive champagne and caviar. Elbow maybe tiptoeing down this path, but we can be grateful that they’re not there just yet.